Magazine
03.31.23

Rolex Daytona: a bespoke design challenge

It all began with a challenge.

An American collector wrote to Jacques Bordier, president of Jean Rousseau, in December 2021: “Monsieur Bordier: In 2009, I inherited a gold Rolex Daytona (model 6241; 1969 edition) from my father. It is a classic vintage watch and quite valuable. For years, I have been …

03.03.23

Jean Rousseau X Havid Nagan: A paradoxical newcomer

Havid Nagan: “A vision of the past, for the future” Aren Bazerkanian

“Paradoxical Timepieces”: Havid Nagan’s tagline reflects its creator’s keenness on combining classical watchmaking and innovative design, an approach that Jean Rousseau itself thrives for. So when Aren Bazerkanian contacted us with ideas for his first line of wa …

10.11.22

Bars, stars and straps: Burdeen’s celebrates Panerai watch launch with a Chicago-themed watch strap “made by Jean Rousseau, obviously”

by Josh Nigut, Burdeen’s Vice President

Burdeen’s Jewelry has been the place to go for custom, unique watches in Chicago for more than 40 years. On September 14, 2022, Burdeen’s celebrated its partnership with watchmaker Panerai with a very limited edition of a Chicago-themed watch strap. Josh Nigut, Burd …

02.02.22

"The collaboration between Sawaya and Maison Jean Rousseau reflects our sincere desire to take care of materials"

Jyubei Sawaya, obi weaver at Sawaya

Founded in Kyoto in 1776, the Sawaya house has distinguished itself in the art of hand weaving. For nearly 250 years, this house has notably been manufacturing obis (belts) of exceptional quality. Jyubei Sawaya embodies the 8th generation of Kimono Masters in the family …

11.25.21

Meet the connoisseurs: Kevin Griegel, sales and e-commerce specialist at Burdeen's

by Kevin Griegel

Founded in 1980, Burdeen’s Jewelry is an American family-owned company specialized in luxury jewelry and watches with a “always custom” mantra. Today, Kevin Griegel, their Sales and E-commerce specialist talks about what makes the strength of the partnership betwe …

10.26.21

A Japanese September for Jean Rousseau

Among Jean Rousseau’s historical anchor countries, Japan is at the forefront. For years, we have had the honor of having our atelier-boutique as well as maintaining privileged relationships with watchmaking and noble materials’ enthusiasts.

10.04.21

“I like Jean Rousseau’s attitude of always aiming higher”, Naoya Hida, Japanese independent watchmaker

by Naoya Hida

Naoya Hida is the founder of Naoya Hida & Co., an independent watchmaker based in Tokyo, Japan, offering high-end watches in very limited numbers. For the past years, Naoya Hida and our teams have imagined and created custom-made watchstraps. Today, Naoya Hida tells us …

09.17.21

Meet the connoisseurs : Henrik Schwiening from the Blancpain blog, alias @shortyshome

by Henrik Schwiening

Henrik Schwiening is a long time watch collector. He runs Blancpain’s blog and is also active on Instagram under the pseudonym of shortyshome, an account dedicated to fine timepieces and photography. He has accepted to tell us about his passion and his appreciation of …

03.11.21

“Leather is a passion renewed with each piece I make” - Portrait of Maïa Reynaud, Technical Director at Maison Jean Rousseau

by Maïa Reynaud

As a student of fine leather goods, Maïa Reynaud had not yet graduated from the prestigious École Boudard in Paris when her high standards led her to the ateliers of Maison Jean Rousseau. Now the technical director in our Parisian boutique, she puts her passion to use …

02.05.21

BESPOKE IS THE EMBODIMENT OF AN EMOTION AT THE HEART OF AN OBJECT

by Anaïs Bordier

Bespoke work is directly linked to the Jean Rousseau identity. We have always imagined and created watch straps for prestigious watch brands: making pieces which meet and exceed their requirements is precisely what makes the beauty and strength of our profession. This i …

12.07.20

"My vocation was born from leather hand made stitching"

by Yosuke SHIBUYA

It has been over ten years since Yosuke Shibuya first set foot inside Maison Jean Rousseau’s Japanese workshop. Extremely demanding, Yosuke is the first craftsman we think of when a client commissions a bespoke watch bracelet or leather product. Dropping his usual res …

10.27.20

3 QUESTIONS TO MR FUKUSHIMA, VICE-PRESIDENT OF EYE EYE ISUZU

Since 2015, Jean Rousseau has been working closely with Japanese retailer Eye Eye Isuzu in Takamatsu, Shikoku. This partnership, which led to the realisation of watchstraps and small leather items, is characterized by the importance of custom-made manufacture. Mr Fukush …

09.14.20

3 QUESTIONS TO BENJAMIN MALATRAIT, PRESIDENT AND COFOUNDER OF ICTYOS

Created by three friends, all chemical engineers, ICTYOS is a tannery both innovative and eco responsible selling high quality sea leathers made from food industry’s fish skins. While a partnership between ICTYOS
and Maison Jean Rousseau is about to take shape, …

09.11.20

3 QUESTIONS TO BETH HANNAWAY, HEAD OF FINE WATCHES AND FINE JEWELLERY AT HARRODS

In September 2020, Maison Jean Rousseau entered one of the most prestigious stores in the world: Harrods. In the heart of Harrods’s Fine Watches department, Jean Rousseau displays a selection of more than 300 handmade watch straps and offers a customisation service wi …

07.02.20

3 QUESTIONS TO CLAIRE HUMEN, TECHNICAL AND PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF THE US JEAN ROUSSEAU ATELIER

Claire Humen is the technical and production director of the US Jean Rousseau Atelier. Together with the craftspeople team, they give life to many clients’ wishes. Today, she explains what skills customisation requires and how Jean Rousseau makes sure it meets its cli …

05.19.20

Our custom-made offer allies an exceptional handmade know-how and a unique sense of customer service

by Pascal Dupenloup

Custom-made items are an important part of our work. It is not a coincidence since we are doing our best to develop a customization offer of very high quality. To begin, this offer is exhaustive. We have always cultivated the respect of tradition while constantly pushin …

04.29.20

3 QUESTIONS TO MAHESH CHAUHAN, FINE LEATHER CRAFTSMAN AT JEAN ROUSSEAU

Mahesh Chauhan is one of the two fine leather craftsmen at Jean Rousseau London. Specialised in making bespoke watchstraps, he also realises small leather goods such as credit card holders, comb sleeves and wallets. Today, he explains how precise his work is.

02.04.20

3 QUESTIONS TO PRANEETH RAJSINGH, FROM MING

MING is a young horological collective formed three years ago by six watch lovers from around the world under the leadership of Ming Thein. Together, they draw from over 80 years of total experience collecting fine timepieces. Jean Rousseau and MING have been partners e …

01.15.20

MAISON JEAN ROUSSEAU: 65 YEARS OF KNOW-HOW

by Jacques & Anaïs Bordier

In 2019, Maison Jean Rousseau celebrated 65 years of its know-how of excellence. On this occasion, its President, Jacques Bordier, and its brand director, Anaïs Bordier, review the history of this French local Maison with an international destiny.

12.11.19

Our authenticity makes us unique and proud

by Jacques Bordier

An obvious word comes to mind to describe the approach and commitment of Maison Jean Rousseau: authenticity. In our modes of operation, in our fabrication processes, in our relationships with our clients and among colleagues, authenticity is a ruling principle.

06.13.19

Team spirit, a Jean Rousseau singularity

by Jacques Bordier

I am convinced that our team spirit is what makes Maison Jean Rousseau unique. We share strong values that create a sense of community within the Manufacture: the pride of making exceptional goods, a regional footprint and the family nature of the company. Of course, th …

02.18.19

Our workshops, our tools: in the backstage of a Jean Rousseau collection

by Anaïs Bordier

Building a collection is a very exciting journey which often starts from a simple discussion and leads to a series of original creations a few months later. But of course, between these two moments, numerous hours of work are required to manufacture our products.

01.30.19

Once upon a time there was Maison Jean Rousseau

By Jacques Bordier

A company’s name is crucial for it carries its history – its failures, its successes – and values. Jean Rousseau is the name of the founder of the company. At the beginning of the 1950s, Jean Rousseau is a shop foreman within one of the numerous little companies t …

01.14.19

Welcome to our Manufacture!

By Anaïs Bordier

It is impossible to write about Maison Jean Rousseau without mentioning its Manufacture. It is a unique place that is very dear to me. The Manufacture is not only our headquarters but also a place of creation and transmission. In other words, it is the epicenter of our …

11.29.18

BLUE IS THE COLOR OF JEAN ROUSSEAU

By Jacques Bordier

Blue is not like any other color. To begin with, it is a symbol of patience, abnegation, even wisdom: quietly ignored from Antiquity to the middle of the medieval ages, it surprisingly ended up becoming Western civilization’s favorite color.

11.08.18

Watch straps, ultimate form of leather art

by Anaïs Bordier

The history of our Manufacture starts in 1954, in Besancon, French capital of watchmaking at the time. The name of the company wasn’t Manufacture Jean Rousseau but COBRA, for “Compagnie des Bracelets” (watch straps company) and was dedicated to creating watch stra …

09.27.18

The “Made in France” label, a key ethical commitment for Jean Rousseau

by Jacques Bordier

While the “Made in France” label is often associated to products that are barely French, we, at Jean Rousseau, give full value to the label. A rare fact in our activity is that we manage the whole process – from the creation to the production of our Jean Rousseau …

06.13.18

PITTI UOMO, EPJH: COME MEET US AT A TRADE FAIR!

by Anaïs Bordier

From June 12-15, we will expose Jean Rousseau’s latest products and innovations at two key trade fairs: the EPJH (Professional environment watchmaking jewelry) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy. Both fairs are renowned and therefore represe …

05.28.18

ENVIRONMENT, PEOPLE, ANIMALS : JEAN ROUSSEAU’S COMMITMENTS

by Jacques Bordier

In face of the environmental and societal challenges that determine the future of our planet, everyone has a role to play and companies make no exception. While a large number of them mostly engage active communication campaigns, we at Jean Rousseau sincerely defend a v …

03.28.18

How we select leathers for our creations

by Anaïs Bordier

Leatherwork is a meticulous activity on which we are regularly interrogated. Where do the skins come from? How do we select them? Which skin corresponds best to that type of creation? How do we guarantee the quality of leathers? I like to answer these questions since I …

02.15.18

Manufacture Jean Rousseau was awarded France excellence label for the 3rd time!

by Jacques Bordier

Since 2007, Manufacture Jean Rousseau was consistently awarded the EPV label, standing for Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company). We are so very proud of this distinction, conferred by the French government for a period of five years. Renewed in 2012 …

01.16.18

Owning our tannery: what difference does it make?

by Anaïs Bordier

When my father took over the manufacture, he started back the activity of the tannery. In Jean Rousseau’s philosophy, it was key to be not only a fine leather good manufacturer but a “service company” as well. Owning our tannery also allowed us to ensure our indep …

12.07.17

Jean Rousseau’s traditional craft: how to preserve and pass on our know-how?

by Jacques Bordier

In 2007, Jean Rousseau received the EPV label. This label, Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant, rewards national firms for the excellence of their traditional and industrial know-how. We were proud to receive this recognition, as we are deeply involved in the preservation o …

11.07.17

How is a collection made? Find about the creation process at Manufacture Jean Rousseau

by Anaïs Bordier

Our creation process starts with a lot of open conversations. The first idea can come from anyone: a coworker, someone from a subsidiary, my father, me… even from a loyal customer! We gather our ideas and explore different directions before I start to work on a mood b …

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